An economist rates 20th-century artists

by Katrina Kuntz

If you were to base your information on modern art history textbooks, Picasso reached his prime in 1917 and Mondrian didn’t peak until he reached the ripe-old age of 71. David Galeson, who in 2005 published a paper titled “The Greatest Artists of the Twentieth Century” for the National Bureau of Economic Research, surveyed 33 textbooks published since 1990 and, based upon the number of illustrations, crowned Picasso greatest artist of the last century. In any given art history textbook, Picasso’s work is illustrated over twice as many times as Matisse’s, the runner-up. Rounding out the top five are Duchamp, Mondrian, and Braque.

Of the 15 greatest artists of the century, nine were, as categorized by Galeson, conceptual artists, who made their greatest contributions in their 20s and 30s, and six were experimental artists, who generally enjoyed success later in life. Galeson also took into account the best single year of each of the 15 artists’ careers by total illustrations and concluded, among others, that Jasper Johns hit his high point in 1955 when he was only 25 while Warhol reached his height in 1962 at the age of 34.

New York narrowly beat Paris as the most influential city for art in the 20th century. Four American artists—Pollock, Rauschenberg, Johns, and Warhol—and three French artists—Braque, Matisse, and Duchamp—were named among the list of fifteen.

MARCH 2006